Arvind Swamy reveals he wasn’t in India to see the success of ‘Roja’

Actor Arvind Swamy revealed he was overseas pursuing his master’s when Roja released in 1992. He missed witnessing its national success but says looking back at the film remains deeply nostalgic.

Mumbai: Actor Arvind Swamy took a trip down memory lane as he reminisced about the success of the 1992 romantic thriller Roja. He shared that he wasn’t in India during its release and couldn’t witness its roaring success, as he had gone overseas to pursue his master’s.

Directed by Mani Ratnam, Roja featured Arvind and Madhoo. The film follows a young woman from a village in Tamil Nadu as she makes desperate efforts to find her husband, who is kidnapped by militants during a secret undercover mission in Jammu and Kashmir.

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Looking back at the film, Arvind told IANS: “It was one of the few films to go national in that sense, as it was dubbed in all the languages, etc.”

“In fact, to tell you something interesting, I was not in India for the release of the film. I was actually overseas, doing my master’s. After I finished the film, I had left to pursue my studies. So, I was not there to see the kind of success that it did have. But it is extremely nostalgic to see the shots of Roja.”

Ever since he ventured into cinema, Arvind has always chosen unconventional roles and continues to do so with his work in films such as Roja, Bombay, Thalapathi, Minsara Kanavu, Thani Oruvan, Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, Thalaivi, Meiyazhagan, Daddy Mounam and Devaraagam to name a few.

Asked if it’s intentional, he said: “No, it’s not like I’m seeing what’s been done and trying to do something that’s not been done. I’m just going after films that I think make sense to me, and I don’t want to make choices based on commerce.

“So, if somebody throws a challenge, then I need to be in doubt about whether I can pull it off the way I want to. And that’s what inspires me to work at it. If it’s easy, then I don’t want to do it,” he added.

The 55-year-old star, who made his debut as a director in the Netflix anthology series Navarasa in 2021, took home the Leadership in Cinema award at the 16th edition of IFFM 2025, and spoke about what the award means to him.

Arvind said: “Firstly, it’s an honour. Thank you so much. I don’t know what the award means to me, like I said. I am still in quest to learn and to do my job well.”

He added: “I think over the years I have made choices not based on commercial success but for what I thought were good stories to say, good people to work with and maybe something I have done onscreen has been inspirational for people. Probably that’s my way of making a meaning to the award itself.”